From Key Stage 2 up, your child will bring home a copy of the Timetable and a copy of the Homework Timetable. Keep these to hand.

Each student has a Homework Diary to record homework set each day. We ask you to check and sign this once a week and the Form Tutor or Class Teacher does the same.

The amount of homework will increase as your child progresses through the school, starting with 30 minutes per night in Year 3. By the time a girl is in Year 7, each homework is for 30 minutes, and two, occasionally three, are set for each night. A short break when your child gets home is good but then encourage them to settle into homework quickly and to get it done early. There is then time for relaxation and fun before bed.

Try to agree what television can be watched or phone calls made from the very beginning and stick to it.

Encourage your child to do the work set that night even if the day for handing it in is not immediate. It helps her to learn about time management.

Spend time establishing the routine in the first weeks and give support by making ‘progress checks’ which show interest. Avoid setting up the pattern of doing homework with them. It will not be helpful to them - or you. The aim is for your child to learn how to work independently. Never do the work entirely for them - even to save time or frustration. In the prep department, it's perhaps more appropriate for parents to take an active role in homework, but this is never required.

If homework seems to be taking too long, and this can happen, check that time is being spent constructively and then stop your child and write a note in the exercise book to say that you stopped her after 30 minutes or whatever. If the problem continues write a note in the Homework Diary to the Form Tutor or Class Teacher who can check if it is a problem for others too. Don’t allow them to stay up past their bedtime struggling on and getting stressed - because you will be stressed too. Similarly, if homework frequently seems too easy, we'd like to know.

Check that the homework instructions are written down clearly in the diary. The Form Tutor or Class Teacher will also check this.

Some like to work with music on but it is never wise to agree to the television and homework at the same time. Television in a bedroom can cause problems.

Phone calls to friends will no doubt increase! Mobile phones and the constant need to text can become a nuisance and it is useful to set guidelines that the mobile is left well away from homework. Extensive use of MSN Messenger or similar technologies may also be counterproductive, and the skills of discernment necessary to make the most of web-based research are not ones that are always aquired easily.

The school places value on homework. Please be wary of comments such as :

• "We didn’t have any set."
• "I did it in the lunch time/on the bus/in a study period."
• "I need to do it at school tomorrow."
• "I’ve lost my homework diary and there is nothing I have to do for tomorrow."
• "I finished it in the lesson."
• "It’s only reading" – this is as important a task as a written assignment.

Check against the Homework Timetable and contact the Form Tutor if you feel this is happening too often.

Homework should be handed in on time.

In the senior school homework diaries there are pages which record Credits for good work, effort, helpfulness etc. There is also a record for W (for Warning) which is given if homework is not handed in on time and there is no good excuse. Three Ws result in a Detention after school and a letter will be sent home to check collection at 5 p.m. When you sign the Diary, you can check on achievements if you wish.